Members of 100 Women Who Care are celebrating their fifth anniversary.
In June 2014, 112 members joined the group. At the March 2019 meeting, the goal was set to reach 200 members and it was surpassed. At the group’s June 11 meeting, the member count has reached 201 with more than half of the original members remaining. Now winning charities will receive donations of over $20,000.
After the standing-room-only crowd listened intently to five-minute presentations from the Canadian Cancer Society, Kidsport P.E.I. and the ALS Society. But it was the sincere passion expressed from Bernie Plourde of the ALS Society that had the biggest appeal.
“I cannot overstate how much of an impact this donation means to the ALS community on P.E.I. …The infusion of money received will enable us to purchase medical equipment that we can share with families to ensure longer and more comfortable stay in one’s own home,” says Plourde.
This marks the first time for a returning charity to win. The ALS Society of P.E.I. took
home $15,300 in donations from the group at the March 2016 meeting. While the group’s policy is that winning charities are excluded from nominations for three years, the work of the ALS Society of P.E.I. supporting families living with this terminal diagnosis has made a notable impact.
There is no cure or treatment for ALS which leaves its victims slowly losing use of their muscles and organs to the point of no function. However, the ALS Society of P.E.I. loans medical equipment to families to help them live with a little comfort, as many pieces are too expensive to purchase. Insufflator-exsufflators costs $5,000 each and allow ALS patients to breathe easier and keep airways clear. Without this machine, victims and families live with fear of choking and developing aspirating pneumonia with each breath. With this most recent donation of $20,100 from the June meeting, members will hear at their Sept. 10 meeting how the money was used as it is the intention of the ALS Society to purchase a couple of insufflator-exsufflators, as well as some wheelchair ramps.
The ALS Society is currently supporting nine families in P.E.I. In 2018 the group supported 15 different families. The group also hopes to send children, affected by a parent living with ALS, to ALS Youth Camp this summer.
Fast facts
-There are two Chapters of 100 Women Who Care in P.E.I., in Charlottetown and in West Prince as well as the men’s group Guys Who Give a $hit.
- Members commit to a $100 charitable donation four times per year to an elected charity has resulted in over $500,000 in total donations to Island-based charities in the past five years between these three chapters.
- Follow on Facebook or go to the website www.100womenpei.com for more details. Next meeting will be Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 5:30 p.m. at Confederation Centre of The Arts. New members should arrive at 5 p.m. to register.
